Known as China plus one, plus one, or C+1 policy, they have the same meaning. China’s plus one strategy is a business strategy to avoid not investing only in China but to diversify the business supply chain and manufacturing into other countries. China Plus One strategy is a channel to introduce investments into promising developing countries such as India, Thailand, Turkey, or Vietnam. This China One Plus policy is like China’s zero-Covid policy, supply chain disruptions, and high freight rates have been adopted globally.
The import landscape data of garments in the EU is changing dramatically. If we see the current date of winners and losers. What’s going on?
The latest data shows a new shape according to patterns from the EU on garment imports. The biggest drop in import data from January to June 2024, the largest EU countries down by 12.5%, a bigger dropdown than last year’s 11%.
The biggest importers seeing big declines like Germany, Spain, France, Netherlands, and Italy.
Germany is down by 14.6%
France isn’t far behind with a 14% decrease
Spain, the Netherlands, and Italy also report drops, from 10.1% to 9.6%.
But, surprisingly, imports from within the EU have managed to hold stronger than expected. Intra-EU imports are only down by 2.2%. Germany and France and others still struggling except Italy showing a gain of 7.1%,
Now, let’s talk about the big drops from non-EU countries.
Imports from Bangladesh to the EU have gone down by 15.1%, and China plus one policy is hit even harder with a 31.3% decline.
China’s one plus policy significantly cut down all major importing countries, from Italy to Germany, sharp imports down up to 44.5% to Italy. However, the real story has begun with the second-tier garment exporters.
India, Pakistan, Cambodia, Turkey, and Vietnam are showing some surprising trends.
India’s exports to the EU are up by 8.9%, making it a standout in a sea of declines.
Cambodia has a slight dip of 1.6% while Pakistan is holding a steady position.
So, what does this all mean? The EU’s garment industry is navigating a new environment. Some traditional suppliers, like Bangladesh and China, are facing challenges, while India is going with emerging key players.
This China Plus One strategy could be the beginning of a new trend in global sourcing. The only thing is a big change is coming so stay tuned with this dynamic landscape evolve.
Related topics EU strategy for sustainable and circular textiles
